Turkey: Opposition party spokesman to be investigated

By Aziz Aslan

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (AA) - An opposition party deputy from Turkey’s southeast is facing investigation on malfeasance allegations and a possible jail sentence.

A public prosecutor in the southeastern province of Diyarbakir submitted a summary of proceedings for Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) spokesman Osman Baydemir on Saturday afternoon.

If the parliament speaker lifts Sanliurfa Deputy Baydemir’s immunity, he will be eligible to face trial, and a jail sentence of up to two years.

The summary of proceedings concerns Baydemir renting a cultural center in the Kayapinar district to an association for 10 years free of charge.

The government has accused the HDP of having links to the PKK, which is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S., and the EU.

Some HDP deputies, including party leaders Figen Yuksekdag and Selahattin Demirtas, were arrested last November after they failed to cooperate in a counter-terrorism investigation.

The lawmakers began facing prosecution under anti-terrorism legislation after their parliamentary immunity was lifted in March 2016.